US First Lady Laura Bush toured the palace of China's former emperors and marveled at the beauty of the "Forbidden City" Thursday.
Bush, accompanying her husband on an East Asian tour, paid a visit to the vast grounds containing vermilion halls and huge stone plazas and bridges shortly after arriving in Beijing.
"Beautiful," she said repeatedly as she was given a tour of the palace by Zhu Chengru, deputy director of the Palace Museum -- another name for the Forbidden City.
Bush was accompanied by Le Aimei, wife of Yang Jiechi, China's Ambassador to the United States, who is also an old friend of George W. Bush's father from when the elder Bush was posted in China as chief of the US liaison office in Beijing in the 70s.
The First Lady lingered at the Hall of Great Harmony, also known as the Hall of Imperial Throne, and walked out to the carpeted area to pose for photos with Le and Sarah Randt, wife of US Ambassador to China Clark Randt.
The hall, built in 1420 and rebuilt during the reign of Qing Dynasty emperor Kangxi, was the place where emperors held important ceremonies to mark accessions, birthdays and the Lunar New Year during the Ming and Qing dynasties.
Laura Bush was then led to the imperial banquet and examination hall as well as the emperor's retirement lodge.
(China Daily February 21, 2002)
